Ray Peat resources
- Ray Peat: Where to Start
- Guide to Ray Peat: Simple, User-friendly Guide to Applying Lessons learned from the Research of Dr. Raymond Peat
- Quick Guide to Ray Peat
- Ray Peat search engine
Debunking The Biggest Health Myths With Georgi Dinkov (timestamped)
Waking temperature should be 97.5-98F and rise to at least 98.5F after eating breakfast. Heart rate should be at 60-75 bpm at waking, and rise to 80 bpm after eating.
If heart rate decreases after breakfast, it means it was being kept high from stress hormones.
functionalps.com
“If the night-time stress is very high, the adrenalin will still be high until breakfast, increasing both temperature and pulse rate. The cortisol stimulates the breakdown of muscle tissue and its conversion to energy, so it is thermogenic, for some of the same reasons that food is thermogenic. After eating breakfast, the cortisol (and adrenalin, if it stayed high despite the increased cortisol) will start returning to a more normal, lower level, as the blood sugar is sustained by food, instead of by the stress hormones. In some hypothyroid people, this is a good time to measure the temperature and pulse rate. In a normal person, both temperature and pulse rate rise after breakfast, but in very hypothyroid people either, or both, might fall.” -Ray Peat, PhD
- Upon waking, an ideal temperature is between 97.8-98.6F and a pulse rate between 75-85 beats per minute (BPM). Other readings during the day should fall within these parameters as well with temperatures being closer to 98.6F than 97.8F. Data points below the optimal are a sign of a slowed metabolic rate.
- There should be an increase in temperature and pulse rate following a good breakfast as the liver becomes energized allowing it to form the active thyroid hormone, triiodonthyronine (T3).
- The afternoon temperature and pulse should increase relative to the morning readings because of the thermogenic effect of good nutrition and movement, and the metabolic stimulation from light.
- In some individuals with overactive adrenal stress hormones (adrenaline/cortisol), the temperature and pulse rate may seem optimal despite symptoms that indicate otherwise. In such people, the temperature and/or pulse will start to drop when metabolic efficiency starts to be restored. This is a sign of progress. Anything consistently over the optimal readings is either a sign of hypermetabolism or an exaggerated adrenaline/cortisol response.
- Correlate the temperature and pulse rate data to the person. The temperature and pulse information serves as one piece of data that needs context to be understood completely.
- The ease by which this data can be taken and tracked makes it ideal in discovering which foods, supplements, and activities promote or degrade your metabolism.
Bioenergetics I - Introduction
Your metabolism is the sum of all processes going on inside your body.
When your metabolism is working properly, you feel warm and alive, your energy levels are high, you enjoy deep quality sleep, you can keep a positive outlook on things, your hair and skin glow with vitality, you have great libido, you go regularly to the bathroom, you have more muscle mass, more focus and more patience. When your metabolism is working properly, you feel hungrier: for food, for sun, for action—for life.
Here’s a quick rundown of 12 signs of high metabolism by Kate Deering’s fantastic book “How to Heal Your Metabolism”:
- 36.6º to 37º C underarm temperature
- 75 to 90 bpm pulse rate
- Warm feet, hands and nose
- 1-3 bowel movements a day
- 4-5 urinations a day
- Healthy sex drive
- In women, low to no PMS
- Shiny hair, smooth skin, strong nails
- 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep
- Feeling happy and content
- Having good energy all day
- Maintaining body weight with ease
Essentially, having a high-functioning metabolism means facing life with the relaxed readiness and radiance of a child:
“A high level of metabolic intensity is characteristic of both young plants and young animals under conditions that are ideal for their life, meeting their energy and substance needs abundantly.” -Raymond Peat, PhD
On the other hand, people with a sickly metabolism often feel cold—especially in their hands, feet and nose—and drained of energy; they have poor digestion, poor sleep, poor libido, poor concentration, and generally a poor attitude. They do not feel hungry for life, they would much rather just get by.